Stop Press: Big Birthday Bonanza!
Celebrating his birthday in considerable style today Mingus attended his final ever show as a puppy – The Plymouth & District Kennel Association Open.
After a couple of frankly so-so performances, resulting from the influence of Phoenix’ season, Mingus pulled out all the doggy-stops today and was well and truly back on form in the ring, being awarded:
– 1st Graduate NSC Gundog (from a class of 6, all but 1 of whom were adults)
– Best NSC Gundog Puppy
– Gundog Puppy Group 1 (his fourth!)
– Reserve Best Puppy in Show (his third!)
all of which, needless to say, made for an exciting and wonderfully memorable birthday!
Another Birthday Bash!
Break out the bunting… no longer a puppy, Mingus is 1 today!
Mingus in the meadow.
Deep red and ultra harsh, never stripped or trimmed - the near legendary(?!) Mingus coat.
Party time!
The thoughtful look.
"You Called?"
"Hmmm...this looks interesting."
Poised.
Misty morning log fetch.
Misty morning log retrieve.
Misty morning log/shin interface about to occur...
...sometime later.
Copper sun-glow.
Rapt.
Mingus in his element.
...and where it all began - a 6-week-old Mingus.
Happy 1st Birthday Mingus!
Birthday Bash.
Hard to believe it, but our “little” girl is well and truly grown up now…To celebrate her 2nd Birthday we took advantage of some unseasonally warm and sunny weather to hit the beach where much canine/human romping was done:
A rare pensive moment.
Phoenix at full charge.
Calm and reserved, as always.
Surf hi-jinx.
Chase: Part 1.
Chase: Part 2.
Nearly airborne.
Of course there's always time to dig.
Deep concentration.
Heavy wagg-age.
Happy Birthday Phoenix!
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…
Hot off the press – the latest reports for Mingus:
“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better in came this class. For me he was a picture of balance. Excellent head and expression. Super front with great legs and feet. Everything just fitted and flowed together. Super body, great quarters and he used them to advantage. Moved really well. Best Not Separately Classified. Puppy Group 1. Gundog Group 1.” Later reserve Best Puppy in Show.
PLYMOUTH & DISTRICT PREMIER OPEN SHOW – judge: Nicola Calvert
(Pic to follow….*nudges Sam* :-))
“10 month old dark red boy with harsh wire coat, lovely head and super facial furnishings, nice ear carriage. Good overall balanced outline with super front angulation, good strong bone and tight feet. Good turn of stifle and better width of thigh than (2nd place dog). Firmly muscled quarters from which he drove well. Good ground-covering action. Reserve Best of Breed. Best Puppy in Breed.“
SOUTH WESTERN GUNDOG CLUB – judge: Ilex Whiting
“10 month old dog, he had excellent coat and colour, good angulation fore and aft and so moved well. He has a typical head and lovely expression and also good temperament. Thoroughly deserved his first place.
SOUTH WALES CHAMPIONSHIP – judge: Patricia Baker
Seasonal Tribulations.
The lonnnnnng absence of any new blog entries can be attributed to Phoenix coming into season – her second, just shy of her 2nd birthday, and almost exactly 12 months from her first. How very orderly.
The big difference this time ’round, though, was that she was no longer the only canine in the household. Entering into unknown territory with an intact male and female living together, Phoenix (somewhat unexpectedly!) came into season just 24 hrs. after being awarded 2nd Limit Bitch at the Gundog Society of Wales Champ show.
We had been as prepared as we could be for the whole male/female excitement interface, and the possibility of having to separate the dogs from one another for a while, but in the event it all went relatively easily, and aside from two occasions when Phoenix was caged to allow Mingus to get some daytime snoozing done, they remained together throughout the whole time. Having said that we didn’t take our eyes off them at any time when they were awake, and obviously they slept in different rooms too, but the howling/screaming/hysteria that we were expecting (and that’s just from the humans) never came to pass at all.
They ate and exercised together just as normal, and, as soon as they were out of the house, they were invariably both far more interested in food/running/tug-of-war/swimming/chasing stuff etc. etc.
Vole hunting = business as usual.
Phoenix herself was pretty unaffected in terms of mood, but once she entered her receptive phase Mingus became much more tense and unsettled, finding it difficult to relax or rest no matter where he was.
Although this only lasted for a few days unfortunately the very peak of the season coincided with Mingus’ final Champ show as a Puppy – Midland Counties – where our boy was incredibly and unusually needy (howling if Tim so much as glanced at another dog!) distracted & fidgety and as a result was very unsettled and lean-y in the ring, temporarily forgetting how to stand or move properly…we think that’s what judges refer to as “throwing it away on the day.”
Then, after just 19 days, it was all over, and, as if someone had flicked a switch to off, both dogs immediately returned to their normal patterns of behaviour.
Of course Mingus (now 11 months old) is just a young-ling, and no doubt things will be a tad more “intense” next time around, but show-ring appearance aside, it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. A big relief!
Day 7 of Phoenix' season - on the trail with Mingus.
Critiques.
We’re just starting to receive the first of the judges Critiques from Mingus’ recent wins, and very pleasing reading they are too:
“Superb 10 months male. I could have taken him home. Expressive head, strong neck, shoulders well laid, deep chest, good bone, well angulated backend that produced a strong rear driving action. This was all topped off with a good harsh jacket. Pleased to award him Puppy Group 1 and Best Puppy in Show. A super boy, I shall watch his progress with interest.”
CAMBORNE REDRUTH CANINE SOCIETY OPEN – judge: Penny Sands
“A superb representative of the Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla carrying many of the characteristics the breed demands, nice biddable, expressive well-worked head, correct size, well-balanced in every department, covering the ground with purposeful, accurate ground-covering movement. I also awarded him Gundog Group 2 and Puppy Gundog Group 1.”
OKEHAMPTON & DISTRICT CANINE SOCIETY OPEN – judge: Mike Bryant
“Puppy of 10 months. Head with good beard, body well ribbed back with dark coat of correct texture. Moved well and really is at one with his handler. Best Puppy. Reserve Best of Breed & pleased to see him go Reserve Best Puppy in Show.”
CORNWALL GUN DOG CLUB OPEN – judge: Mike Lewin
“A promising 10 month old dog puppy with an excellent coat and head furnishings. Angulations good and balance each other. Correct height and length ratio in body. Deep chest, short and strong over loin. Moved soundly and with drive to win Best of Breed & Best Not Separately Classified Puppy & later PG2”
TAVISTOCK & DISTRICT OPEN judge: Eileen Hughes
Best Puppy in Show.
Pics from Mingus’ Best Puppy in Show win at Camborne Redruth Open show – as you can see, they went with the cute, rather than the formal poses..still, at least Mingus got to show off his natty, Puppy Gurus trained “paw shake”:
–
Tavistock Trip.
The Royal Cornwall Showground at Wadebridge in Cornwall is starting to feel like a second home now after Mingus has been to 3 shows there over the last 16 days. The latest canine extravaganza to be hosted at the venue was today’s Tavistock & District Canine Society Open Show.
A last minute judge change saw Eileen Hughes instated as judge for Mingus’ AVNSC class. Given that she had awarded Mingus 1st Puppy Dog at the Richmond Champ Show just last month, this seemed to auger pretty well. Still, it was very pleasing when our boy was awarded 1st Junior NSC and then beat the Graduate & Open class winners to go Best NSC Gundog & Best NSC Gundog Puppy, gaining another point toward his Show Certificate of Merit in the process.
Mingus - stacked (perfectly!) in the Gundog Group.
A swift enlargement of the ring brought us immediately to the Gundog Group, judged by the Spinone specialist Shona MacPherson. We were delighted to be shortlisted for Best Gundog out of the 15 BOB’s in the adult group, and even more so when Mingus was placed 2nd in the subsequent Gundog Puppy Group – the fifth show in a row for Mingus to be awarded either 1st or 2nd best Gundog Puppy in show.
We also (finally) managed to get a few pics on Mingus in action in the ring – hurrah!
...and stacked (not quite so well!) for the Gundog Puppy Group.
OMG…
Another double-show weekend for young Mingus brought another double-whammy of huge wins too:
The weekend's rosette haul.
Saturday was the Cornwall Gun Dog Show down at our favourite venue – the Royal Cornwall Showground – with it’s huge, under-cover rings and almost unlimited space to exercise dogs off lead. All of which seemed to work well for our boy and from a very large puppy group (and in a repeat of his win just 7 days earlier) Mingus was awarded Reserve Best Puppy In Show and Best Opposite Sex Puppy in Show – huzzah!
So then, following three very big wins from three consecutive shows, our expectations were that Mingus’ run must surely come to a halt the following day at the Okehampton & District Open.
Phoenix had a fantastic show here in 2009 and was awarded Best Gundog Puppy, but in the event Mingus did even better than his big sis and far better than we could possibly have imagined, winning best AVNSC Gundog, Best Gundog Puppy (Gundog Puppy Group 1) and, most incredibly of all, adult Gundog Group 2. In fact the only gundog to beat Mingus all day was a marvellous adult Cocker who went on to take Best in Show. It was a particular thrill to be awarded Best Gundog puppy at the same show in two consecutive years.
The judges critique read:
“A superb representative of the Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla carrying many of the characteristics the breed demands, nice biddable, expressive well-worked head, correct size, well-balanced in every department, covering the ground with purposeful, accurate ground-covering movement. I also awarded him Gundog Group 2 and Puppy Gundog Group 1.”
So now, with four huge wins in a row from five very different judges, the scale of our boys’ recent achievements is just beginning to sink in. Not the least of which are:
1) a phenomenal 282 points (earned in just 9 days) towards his already large puppy-of-the-year-competition points total
2) more than half of the points required for a show certificate of merit, including ALL of the adult group place points.
and all at just 10 months and 5 days old!
The *Incredible* Weekend.
Tim & Mingus went to two shows over the course of this last weekend. Following some close-up photographic examination of Mingus’ movement & standing (and some very useful comments by Sam from Farlap) Tim made a decision to slightly alter the way that he moved and stacked Mingus.
This was the result:
DAY 1:
DAY 2:
A story told through commemorative car stickers – representing by far and away the most exciting, emotional and memorable 48 hrs of showing we’ve ever had!!
Mingus’ first day wins were exuberantly cheered on by a decent sized gang of fans/supporters/friends who together created a wonderful atmosphere that made the whole day doubly memorable. Over the course of the two shows, and particularly at the second – where news of his previous days’ remarkable wins had preceded him – many, many gundog folks who had never introduced themselves before came to congratulate and admire our fabulous boy.
All three of the judges who placed him so highly were keen to find out more about him. After awarding him Best Gundog in Show gundog expert Nicola Calvert said that Mingus had outmoved all of the adult gundogs and surely had a tremendous future ahead of him. When awarding Mingus BAVNSC, ahead of a recently made-up Champion Field Spaniel, GWP specialist Penny Sands said the Spaniel was indeed “lovely”, but that Mingus was: “just stunning!” praising his perfect shoulder placement and movement in particular.
We think it’s possible (and are currently seeking to find out as best as we can) that, at just 9 months of age, Mingus is the youngest HWV ever to win an adult group at a UK all-groups Open show. He’s also one of just a small handful of the breed (and again, possibly the youngest) to have ever won Best Puppy In Show at an all-groups UK Open show. Even more importantly to us he has also grown into the most stunningly handsome, wonderfully expressive and sweetest natured young dog we could have imagined. A total joy and continual delight both in and out of the ring.
Various portraits of Mingus, both official and unofficial, were done in conjunction with his wins, so we hope to bring some of those to the blog very shortly.
Camborne Redruth Canine Soc chose the most unconventional (but cutest!) of the pics taken to use on their site at:
http://camborneredruthcaninesociety.co.uk/2010Results.aspx
In the meantime, quite oblivious to all the fuss around him, our lovely (and now show winning!) lad has been busy unwinding today, romping in the woods and river, reunited with his “Big Sis” Phoenix.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 
